Bans & Regulations

05/22/2014

Although the FDA's proposed regulations on electronic cigarettes have been out for a few weeks already, it remains to be a hot topic among opponents and proponents on the industry. In fact, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg wrote a letter to NYT to clarify the proposals.

Independent Researcher, consultant and CASAA Scientific Director Carl V. Phillips said that this letter is indeed a clarification of the ignorance the federal agency has on electronic cigarettes.

Regulatory Benefits

In the letter, Hamburg said that once finalized, the policies will require ecig companies will be required to submit their report on the levels of harmful as well as probably harmful chemicals/chemical compounds emitted by the products.

She said that they cannot enact a rule on restricting and reporting ecig emissions until the foundational rule making is made complete.

FDA Tobacco Regulatory Process

Under this process, harmful and potentially harmful chemicals or HPHC rules will require to test their products as well the smoke emission of products. It is not clear whether vapors from ecigs would have to be tested too.

This was not mentioned in Tobacco Control Act while the deeming ecig regulations repeatedly refer to HPHC rules with no clarification. Phillips stated that it easier answering a question when it is about processed tobacco leaf with paper rather than disposable ecigs.

It is possible that the FDA wants the quantity of listed chemicals in the overall product with the battery included. It can also be assumed that the agency only wants to know the chemical list of eliquids, but the agency has not been straight or clear about it. FDA only emphasized that ecigs will be subject to HPHC reporting, but did not explain what this actually means.

Inappropriate, Senseless Regulations

Apparently, the FDA has not thought or considered the legal and scientific aspects of the ecig regulations. Moreover, Phillips said that the biggest flaw of the FDA proposal is that the HPHC reporting process has no benefit at all because it will only impose useless busy work.

For years, FDA has been gathering smokeless tobacco and cigarette information; but barely knows what to do with such information. They report about it, but unintentionally do not tell that products with lower quantities have lower harms as well.

The federal agency is expected to implement its oversight on banning some product SKUs with higher levels of certain chemicals. This, however, is not proven to be beneficial to the public.

Although some cigarettes could have lower levels of these chemicals, they are still very harmful. Yet, the smokeless tobacco products will almost be harmless. HPHC numbers will only be used as an excuse in banning certain products. Phillips said that this is just what the FDA wants to do.

With ecigarettes, this problem is worse. The particular HPHC chemicals list is not appropriate for electronic cigarettes. Most components are useless to measure while compounds and molecules that are of significance with ecigs are not included in the list. If ever the list is appropriate, there remains no evidence that higher levels in ecigs are indeed risky.

Science-based Regulations

Hamburg said that FDA is committed to science-based policies on electronic cigarettes in order to better protect the public. With what FDA plans to do with ecigs, this seems unbelievable. Hamburg said that there will be four different studies to be done on ecigarette vapor; but there are already a lot of previous studies about vapors that can assure vapers that vapors are not harmful. The FDA is focused on the chemicals that matter not with ecigarettes.

Also, it appears that there is no part in the plan that will address the improvement of production. The FDA plan is 99% focused on banning ecigarettes in the market through the immense expenses involved in the busy work of regulations.

01/07/2014

The governor of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin, has signed the executive order that prohibits using vaporizing devices before Christmas 2013. This ecig ban that the governor justifies by saying that the ecig industry is not regulated and might pose health dangers to citizens of the state has received disapproval from Oklahomans.

This ecig ban has obtained disagreement from the vapor industry. The industry disputed and claimed that many ecig users who have found a way out of smoking would simply resort and go back to real smoking because of the latest prohibition.

Sean Gore, chairman of Oklahoma Vapor Advocacy League, said that he too was a smoker before. He still had one-half pack of cigarettes when he started vaping; yet, since he began the switch, he never again looked back at his old habit.

He lit and smoked his last fag two years ago; thanks to the vapor devices. He feels strongly about the products that he also now advocates to other people.

01/05/2014

The NYC ecig ban is one of the laws that former mayor Michael Bloomberg signed and approved before leaving his office on the second to the last day of 2013. While Bloomberg, city council members and anti-smoking advocates think that this is good legislation; Audrey Silk, a known smoking right advocate described it as a bad law.

Literally Blew Smoke

According to Silk, bad laws are disobeyed by good people. She and another man literally blew smoke as the outgoing billionaire mayor signed the law.

If you would recall, this NYC ecig ban was the hot topic of news before year 2013 came to an end. During the public hearing conducted for this legislation, numerous vapers gathered inside the hall of NYC.

Many anti-smoking advocates raised their eyebrows as these vapers puffed vapors from their device inside a building where a no smoking policy is intensely implemented. As a united group, these vapers attended the public hearing to make their voices heard and their welfare considered by the lawmakers.

12/31/2013

Tobacco is perhaps a classic and essential part of legislation. Yet, now that electronic cigarettes are available in the market for the numerous smokers around the world, both tobacco and ecig have become the favorite issues among the legislative and regulatory bodies in this year of 2013.

A few more hours are left of this 2013 and it is worthwhile to spend this remaining time to look back at how tobacco and ecig legislation took place in this year that we are about to bid farewell to. Majority of the legislations are about the taxation on the two product categories.

Tobacco Taxes

In 2013, there have been 35 state legislatures that considered tobacco and cigarette tax bills.

Arkansas, for example, has enacted its $0.50 cap on cigar tax in the state. Kentucky, meanwhile, lowered chewing tobacco tax to $0.19 for every unit with 1.5 ounces.

12/27/2013

Last December 16, President Lou Ritter of AEMSA along with Keller and Heckman LLP's Azim Chowdhury met with the representatives of OMB/OIRA to discuss the proposed and possible ecig regulation.

American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association or AEMSA presented during the meeting its points on the possible impact that inappropriate ecig regulation could bring.

The Association is one of the trade groups that offer such an important support stricture for the industry of electronic cigarettes. Its advocacy is all about promoting quality and clean ecigarette vaporizing liquids in the market.

Groups such as AEMSA are not just about making the industry better in terms of the products being offered in the market. The Association is also serving to advocate for the political balance and welfare of the industry.

Thus, it met with and presented before the representatives from OMB and OIRA points that will help in shaping possible and appropriate electronic cigarette policies. It has been supposed by many in the industry that the FDA is intending to regulate ecigs are tobacco products.

While ecigs and tobacco cigarettes both contain and deliver nicotine, the two product categories are not one and the same. Ecigarette is not tobacco; it contains no tobacco and burns no tobacco.

Treating ecigs as tobacco will have a grave negative impact not just on the industry of vaping, but also on public health. These and other points are what trade groups like AEMSA are making known to OMB and OIRA that are reviewing the proposed FDA regulations.

AEMSA and OMB/OIRA Meeting

The association's purpose for these meetings was to show and convince the offices that applying federal smoking and tobacco product regulations on electronic cigarettes is inappropriate and unrealistic.

At the meeting, the association pointed out that all currently available ecig devices and e-liquids in the market must be allowed to remain with no need to obtain premarket approval from the FDA. One of OMB's mission is ensuring the assessment of economic impacts while in the process of making regulatory decisions.

Any requirement that might result to the elimination of products from the market shall have a grave impact on the $2 billion worth ecigarette industry and the emerging refillable market. Thousands of small businesses will potentially close down and a lot of people will lose their jobs throughout the US.

Deeming regulations must allow the smooth transitioning of these products toward a status of complete regulation. A process of reasonable premarket authorization should also be created wherein manufacturers will be required to disclose their processes and used ingredients for safety and purity assurance.

Lumping ecigarettes with tobacco products is simply wrong and inappropriate. Clearly, this is over regulation and the lest that ecig industry needs is to be over regulated.

It is obvious that smoking is the cause of harms and vaping is offering the best possible solutions. If ecigarettes will be intensely restricted and heavily taxed just like cigarettes, many vapers who are ex smokers will simply just go back to their old habits because vaping incentives are no longer available.

If ecigs will be regulated by the FDA as tobacco in a goal to protect public health, the opposite effect will be achieved. More harms will result from over regulations rather than alleviation on public health dilemma.

Over regulation will also impact the industry in such a tremendously unwanted way. Any innovation, advancement or opportunity on the products to further improve and refine them will be crashed and halted.

If ecigs are treated and regulated like tobacco, the government would only be protecting Big Tobacco, which is actually its real adversary.

The current unfolding of events shows that many have conflicting agendas; some have disseminating information, incomplete information or disinformation.

Most anti-ecig propagations are not verified, untrue, extremely misleading and have no scientific bases. Regulations based on all these will only prove disservice of officials to the public.

12/26/2013

Beginning January 1, 2014, electronic cigarettes will no longer be allowed on all state-owned and leased properties in Oklahoma. Governor Mary Fallin signed an executive order last December 23 that made the ban official.

Two years ago, Fallin also signed a similar directive prohibiting cigarettes and other tobacco products on state property. Lawmakers made the smoking ban permanent early this year with new legislation.

Now the restriction will apply to both traditional and electronic cigarettes. All forms of smoking will not be allowed on state-owned and leased properties as well as state-owned and leased buildings and vehicles.

The governor said the comprehensive smoking ban aims to protect the health of employees and people visiting state-owned properties. She also mentioned that the recent popularity of e-cigarettes and personal vaporizers are "a concern" because they are unregulated and the long-term effects on human health are largely unknown.

"E-cigarettes release vapor that contains chemicals that can impact employees and visitors to state property," she Fallin. "Additionally, many electronic cigarettes look like traditional cigarettes and emit a vapor that looks like smoke. This creates confusion for employees and visitors and presents enforcement challenges for state agencies."

State employees who smoke or vape are given two weeks to consider quitting the habit.

"If you're a state employee who smokes or uses e-cigarettes, I encourage you to make quitting your New Year's resolution," said the governor.

The state has plenty of resources to help smokers quit, including the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline 800-QUITNOW and www.OKhelpline.com. Both platforms offer free counseling and nicotine replacement products to Oklahoma residents who want to quit tobacco use.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Health, the vapor produced by electronic cigarettes is not water vapor but a chemical solution that may include propylene glycol, nicotine and other cigarette‐related contaminants.

Health officials also warned that parents who use e‐cigarettes inside their homes and cars could be exposing their kids to nicotine vapor. MRI images indicate that the harmful effects on the brain from cigarette smoking are most likely due to nicotine exposure.

12/22/2013

In a show of force, electronic cigarette users and sellers packed the room where the New York City council was discussing a ban on public vaping.

With no law preventing them from vaping at City Hall, protesters defiantly pulled out their nicotine vaporizers and puffed away at the seat of city government, driving their point home under billowing clouds of white vapor.

During the hearing, lawmakers were debating whether to allow or stop the use of electronic cigarettes in public places such as bars, restaurants, parks, beaches and outdoor recreational areas where smoking traditional cigarettes is already outlawed.

Proponents of electronic cigarettes explained that these nicotine vaporizers do not produce harmful smoke and that the vapor expelled is safe to be inhaled by nonsmokers. They also argued that banning e-cigs in public would encourage vapers to light up a regular tobacco cigarette when they feel the urge to smoke and defeat the main purpose of trying to kick the habit.

Vendors of e-cigarettes claim that there is no scientific evidence proving that these devices pose a health risk to the user.

"The fact is this isn't smoking," said Jesse Gaddis, a representative from Brooklyn ecig company Bedford Slims. "This is vapor."

Jenee Fowler, 28, who gave up smoking about 14 months ago and switched to ecigs said, "I am not a doctor, but I know that personally my life is 1,000 times better due to this product".

"I started smoking Parliament Lights when I was 12 and I was smoking a pack a day by the time I was 16," said 29-year-old Vapor Lounge owner iLona Orshansky. "I quit 10 months ago. I vape a tobacco flavor. It tastes like a Parliament."

But supporters of the ban, including outgoing Speaker Christine Quinn, maintain that the city has to regulate these faux cigarettes because they have become very popular with kids and it's very hard to distinguish them from the real thing.

Another concern by Health Department Commissioner Dr. Tom Farley is that without regulation, e-cig users do not know exactly what they are inhaling.

12/21/2013

Spain has one of the strictest anti-tobacco laws in Europe, and the same rigid rules could soon apply to electronic cigarettes.

The government already prohibits minors from buying and using e-cigarettes. This week it was announced that vaping will no longer be allowed in public places such as hospitals, schools, health centers, public administration buildings, and all forms of public transportation because of possible health risks.

"The goal is to protect people's health and avoid possible adverse effects," Health Minister Ana Mato said in a statement.

The new restrictions on the use of electronic cigarettes will be implemented by the health departments of Spain's 17 autonomous regional governments.

The global e-cigarette industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and governments are struggling with how to regulate the popular devices. Health officials and anti-smoking campaigners are going head to head with vaping advocates and e-cig manufacturers, with each side arguing the safety and side effects of nicotine vaporizers.

Supporters claim e-cigarettes are less harmful than tobacco products because they do not expel smoke. With the option to go zero-nicotine, ecigs could also be an effective cessation tool.

The medical community is not entirely sold on this idea. The World Health Organization has warned that the potential health risk of e-cigs "remains undetermined".

About seven million Europeans are currently using electronic cigarettes.

The European Union approved new legislation that would regulate the sale of electronic cigarettes and make tobacco smoking even less attractive.

Tobacco companies are already required to display repulsive graphics of smoker lungs and cadavers on their cigarette packaging. The new law aims to make these images even more prominent, with graphic and text warnings covering 65% of the front and back labels beginning 2016.

Lawmakers are hoping that the bigger health warnings could help reduce the estimated 700,000 tobacco-related deaths in Europe every year.

Countries that are contemplating bans on all cigarette branding, such as Britain and Ireland, will be able to enforce generic packaging if they wish.

"Agreement on the tobacco directive is a big step towards a healthier and more prosperous society," said Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Lithuania health minister and current EU president.

Tobacco companies are questioning the health benefits that the new labeling system would bring.

"Over-sizing health warnings to 65 percent with pictures positioned at the top of the pack... will not work, as people already understand the health risks associated with smoking," Japan Tobacco Inc said in a statement. "Rather, these restrictions will confuse retailers and consumers, making it difficult for them to distinguish brands."

Anti-smoking groups laud the new law, saying it would make it harder for companies to use misleading marketing to attract new customers.

"The tobacco regulation supported today by governments is a victory against the tobacco industry and its intense lobbying," said Monika Kosinska, secretary general of the European Public Health Alliance.

The new tobacco directive is also the first attempt of the EU to regulate the booming electronic cigarette industry. Analysts have predicted that e-cigarette sales could eclipse the $700 billion-a-year market for tobacco cigarettes in 10 years. All the major tobacco firms – Philip Morris owner Altria, Reynolds American, Lorillard, British American Tobacco, and Imperial Tobacco – have started adding electronic cigs to their product lines in an effort to offset declining cigarette sales.

Marketed as a "healthier" alternative to smoking, electronic cigarettes generate nicotine vapor without burning tobacco leaves so there is no smoke expelled. Many of the carcinogens and toxic compounds associated with cigarettes come from tobacco smoke. But health officials and legislators are divided on the real benefits of e-cigs. Some say e-cigarettes are even more dangerous because the specific ingredients in the liquid solution are unknown. Parents also worry that kids are getting hooked because of the attractive flavors, which could lead to long-term nicotine addiction.

Governments and the European Parliament have been locked in a dispute over how tightly to regulate the sales and use of electronic cigarettes.

EU diplomats have agreed to treat e-cigarettes as consumer products rather than medicines which are more-tightly regulated. But governments will be given a free hand in regulating e-cigs as medical devices if they choose to.

Refillable e-cigarettes will be allowed, but the European Commission could impose an EU-wide ban in the future if three or more member states prohibit them on health grounds.

In addition to repackaging cigarettes, the new set of rules will ban all flavored tobacco products beginning 2016. It was agreed that menthol cigarettes could stay on the market until 2020, after some governments demanded a slower phase-out.

Flavored cigarettes such as vanilla, fruit and clove are becoming increasingly popular among young smokers. The tobacco directive is expected to be formally approved by EU ministers and the full parliament.

12/17/2013

The OSU Board of Regents voted unanimously to ban these devices at Stillwater effective immediately.

OSU has outlawed tobacco use anywhere on campus since 2007. Now that policy will extend to modern forms of "smoking" such as e-cigarettes and nicotine vaporizers.

The revision to the current anti-smoking policy was made last October 25 but was pulled upon review by the Board of Regents for OSU and the A&M Colleges.

Chairman Tucker Link said both opponents and proponents were given an opportunity to present their sides before the board made a decision.

"Respectful of the different point of views, at the end of the day, it pointed back to the health of the vast majority of our faculty, staff and students," the chairman said. "The ban complements Oklahoma State's smoke-free campus initiative, which was a vital step in our pursuit of becoming one of the healthiest campus environments in the country and reversing the historic unhealthy trends in Oklahoma."

OSU chief wellness officer Suzy Harrington insists that the ban should stay in place until more research on the safety of electronic cigarettes has come to light.

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